I love doing business with Gardner Bank, and I love my Small Business Banking checking account.

Gardner Bank is the parent company of smallbusinessbank.com and I could not be happier with the process of opening an account here. It's faster and more secure than any of the big national banks I've used i read more

This bank is the worst. They arbitrarily decide which credits to post and when. The interface is hard to use. You can't even see a transaction register for a user defined period. Everything "online" seems to require a call to the bank during "bankers hours." They cancelled posting check deposits online and require mailing them using the POST OFFICE. The only reasoning I can see is that they are going under and are preserving all the capital they can. If I were an investor in this bank I would be worried. read more

I recently opened a business account with Gardner Bank DBA smallbusinessbank.com. Both of the other signers had issues with their credit or responding to security questions. After calling the bank, the bank manager allowed us to submit an amendment to our operating agreement clearly stating I was the only person needed to open an account with the partner signatures. So far there have been no issues as stated in other complaints with this bank and I'm highly impressed w/ their security conscious stance, especially their secure document system. The only complaint I have so far is that I never received a phone call / voicemail after initially submitting the paperwork and had to call them for clarity. This did delay us about a week, unfortunately. read more

I have had accounts with this bank for several years. If you want a no-frills bank with access to an actual person from the US to talk to you about your account. They do not have the latest and greatest technology and sometimes their mobile app has issues but for the most part if you want a simple bank that does not fee you to death then this is a good choice. I noticed a lot of negative reviews on this bank and let's be realistic this bank is not charging you $30-$40 a month in fees like other banks do so they may not have the resources to provide gold plated service. This bank has worked out extremely well for me and I recommend it. read more

This was a scary experience. Filled out the app. This ridiculous bank disappeared on me. It took me 2 months of repeated phone calls to finally get to someone. Now they are telling me I need to complete another application. I am really concerned if this is a scam. And they will just keep spinning me around and around because that's what scammers do. They have all of my personal info. I should have taken all the other reviews serious. My advice, RUN!!!!! They need to be shut down. read more

Just an absolute hassle to deal with if you have questions, want to deposit money and have it post to your account, or need anything beyond very basic service. While they don't charge any fees, I'm certainly willing to pay a small fee for better service, mobile technology, etc. Besides, most other banks will eliminate their monthly fees if you have a certain amount of transactions per month anyway. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time. read more

Very easy sign up process. Customer service was very quick. I've dealt with larger, Big Name banks which are cumbersome and fee heavy. If you have a small bank with basic needs, this is the bank for you. read more

I am giving us a 3 star rating, based on the reviews, but honestly feel we have turned the corner and will be a 4, maybe even 5, soon. We own up to the reviews, though some of them are the tragic result of bad communication on our part, of the tough standards we have in place for Identity verification, Business eligibility, and accumulating a good checking account performance history. All of these are VITAL to our operation, which is the only 1 we know of allowing individuals to completely set up a business checking or savings account in an entirely remote fashion. One can imagine our heightened need for safe and secure systems since we never (unfortunately) ever meet face-to-face, our business owner/customers. Please bear with us. We are here to bring simple and low cost banking options to very small business customers, and we start by letting them get a low cost (or free) bank account and VISA business debit card without having to come into the bank. As one of the reviewers has attested, we have gotten the process down to a few hours, assuming we have correct documents. Thank you for your patience, AND FOR YOUR BUSINESS, GARDNER BANK dba SMALLBUSINESSBANK.COM Ralph J. Leno CEO read more

I never have access to my money, they are always shutting down my debit card, they aren't open on weekends, BLOODY AWFUL customer service. Robyn specifically is clueless and unhelpful. They got my address wrong and sent my first debit card somewhere besides my home, also got the address wrong on my checks. Avoid this place completely. F- read more

Great value for small business owners. Consistently good personal customer service---I can always talk to a banker during business owners.

I must preface by saying that my banking needs are very few. I own a "microbusiness", which SBB says that they specialize in. It's just me, and I don't make a lot of money. My requirements were no or very low fees, a decent website, low/no minimum balance, and mobile deposit. So for me, this has worked great! No issues with their app, I got everything set up really quickly, checks came fast and correct. I am delighted with them. If you have a more complicated business than I do then maybe you'd need to be more demanding, but for my scale it is perfect. read more

Awful! No proper customer service when I call. The lady I spoke to was certainly not professional (Kendra). They took forever to process my application only to decline it and did not give a reason why. read more

So far so good! Just opened a free checking account for my new small business. Customer service has been excellent! Plus everything is free. Try to find that out there at Chase, Wells, or B of A. read more

Not particularly horrible and I do like being able to remotely deposit checks with the smart phone app. The thing that has made me start thinking about looking for a local bank instead is it is not really possible for me to deposit cash into my account as most of my clients seem to favor giving me cash. I contacted support because I need to deposit $150 and am not sure how to get it into my account. The support person I spoke to (Nick) informed me that the only was I would be able to deposit cash is at a Shazam ATM that accepts deposits. I looked on their website and there are none in my region. The support person then SUGGESTED I MAIL THE CASH TO THEM, I replied that that seems very unsafe and inquired as to weather there is a way to use the UPS store or anything. He replied that that is the only options they offer at this time. So now I am searching for a local bank instead. read more

Gardner Bank/SmallBusinessBank.com WASTED 3 weeks of my time. The process goes a little like this: Apply online; simple enough. Upload documents; ok. Wait a week. Someone calls, sign something. Wait a week. Someone calls, says you need to sign something else, email will be sent tomorrow. Tomorrow nothing comes, you call. Oh it's definitely coming today--doesn't come. You call again "send it to me now while I'm on the phone". You get it, you sign it. They charge you $100 to fund your account. "You'll just need to sign the signature card and the account will be opened. You should get that in your email tomorrow..." Guess what, nothing comes. You call, "oh yeah it should go out tomorrow" Tomorrow--nothing. You call again, speak to someone you haven't spoken to yet. They ask you all kinds of questions about your lofty goals with you business. They say, "ok we'll keep processing your file; you should get that signature card soon." Three days later you get an email stating they are declining your account. You get your $100 back :). You call "so yeah WTF guys?" A supervisor tells you "Well you see on that phone call after we took your money, you stated you wanted to do XYZ in the future, and that really isn't SMALL business, so yeah we made the decision to decline your application." So let me get this straight, you took 3 weeks to process my application, took my money, and then because of something that MIGHT happen in the FUTURE, you are declining my application today? "That's right!" You visualize that South Park episode where the cable company guys rub their nipples in delight while feigning sympathy for your troubles. You say "F**K you dude" and hang up. 20 minutes later you get an OK business account with BB&T. I guess the moral of the story is the No Bull Free checking, is ACTUALLY full of Bull, and the Free account, just COST you 3 weeks of your life. Save yourself some time, and just go to bank that has more than 1 employee. Yeah, I could tell all you were doing was changing your voice, if you read this Mr. Gardner Bank /SmallBusinessBank.com, I want you know sincerely, F**K you dude. you suck. read more

I'm five days into applying for a basic business checking account and I still don't know where I stand. I can call in an get different answers from difference CS reps. Yesterday, they had everything they needed. Today, they decided they needed a drivers license. Two days ago, they left me a message about a verification step and an extension I needed to call. When I called the extension it wasn't valid. This could be a very inexpensive account, but the cost is in the time of babysitting them until the account is opened (that is if they figure out how to get it open). read more

Not a fake. I went with them for their personal service and they will come through for you and go the extra mile. Thanks guys!

It is so nice to able to really recommend a bank! A representative of Gardner Bank had been asking for my small business to do business with it for several years before I got fed up enough with my bigger bank to actually make the move. They made the move easy for me and have saved me not only money, but also time. I CAN drive over to the branch if I feel the need, but I don't have to go there for my deposits because of my nifty remote deposit feature. read more

Terrible bank they asked me no joke 100 questions on the first phone call then withdrew my first deposit from my personal checking. A week later I tried to log in to my account and it wasn't open yet, so I called them and they continued to ask another 50 questions saying they didn't understand what my business was even though I had explained it 3 times and they wrote it down verbatim. Then they wanted a business card my company doesn't have business cards so they said just create a facebook page I did so but it wasn't good enough. After all this they said they couldn't prove my business or my identity even though I gave them my SSN my EIN my physical address my proof of organization from the state and numerous other documents. Stay far away not a trust worthy bank read more

I love Small Business Bank! I reviewed a lot of banks to find one that suits me. I'm a very small sole proprietorship and I don't want to spend money on fees. They have been extremely helpful, answering questions about setup by email and by phone. My customer service rep, Samantha, answers me immediately when I write with a question. I don't mind if it takes a few days for a check to clear - all banks do that. You have a phone app for depositing checks that works well. I highly recommend this bank, not just for small businesses, but for anyone. read more

Ridiculous ID verification process - they ask a bunch of obscure questions with incorrect and try to get you to guess answer. If you somehow select the wrong answers, you are apparently permanently denied an account with no recourse. Customer support was no help. Can't believe these idiots would turn down business due to a flaw in their own systems. Will be taking my small business somewhere with sane policies. read more

Horrible..They just closed my account (for a short time of inactivity) without any notice (just a letter today in snail mail..no email..no online secure message..) and no way for me to access my funds..can't log in....I just logged in like a few weeks ago...BAD BAD! Especially for a small business...no patience I guess...seems to be under some new exec/management making BAD decisions of late (Sara Foland is who letter is from.."VP Manager" )..profit profit!. Also known as smallbusinessbank.com read more

I take back my previous comments. They called back, apologized for the delay, Went through the process very quickly and efficiently and had my account up & running in a couple of days. read more

My business account was officially opened today. It's as real as it gets! I first researched online FDIC Bank Find & their FDIC Certificate #25744. They have three branches in Gardner, KS. Then I started the process. I called the mngr. on the email 2 days after setting it up (to check on my status) & found out that you need to send the documents individually. I first sent them as a group file & they only saw the first item. Then, it was smooth sailing. I love it since there are no minimums & nickle & dime charges! Every bank I've used over the last twenty years has killed me with various charges! I will keep you posted... read more

So far it hasn't been a problem, other than trying to deposit funds from my brokerage account. Gardner Bank uses a third party to receive funds, which means that they do not have an account with the Federal Reserve. That's a little bit of a pain. read more

This is a great bank. First note that it's an online extension of Gardner Bank, a 3 branch bank in Kansas. They are completely legitimate and FDIC insured (heck, you can go visit one of their branches if you happen to be in Kansas). You get the best of both worlds - online banking and mobile check deposit along with the customer service of a small, midwest bank (however you also get the hours of a small, midwest bank). Because it's a smaller bank their application process is a little clunky and requires a few extra hoops (err on the side of caution + Patriot Act requirements; I did have to call them to get my application completed). And yes, their customer service isn't like the 'bigger' banks (you do get to speak to someone in Kansas every time - no offshore support here). But if you want truly free business checking and very affordable credit card processing rates, then this is a great option. Whether or not you decide to use them, and whether or not you decide you want to go a few extra steps to sign up, it is entirely up to you. However this does not make them a scam, it makes them the little guy who's trying to offer a service that no big bank offers. read more

This bank is not a scam but my experience has me pissed at them. I set up an account with them to fund a new business buying rental properties and everything went fine until it came time to fund the account. I had the company holding my funds wire them the money and got a call from SBB telling me that they were returning my wire and closing my account because my funding was over their limit to be considered a small business. The amount was about $240,000 which, in my mind, is not that large. When said there was no mention of a limit on their website, she agreed and said that the wording was being changed to address this. When I asked what their limit was, she just said that this was too much to be a small business and that the bank wasn't comfortable with taking on that much "liability". When I pressed her for their limit, she finally said 500. I asked $500?? and she said yes. When i asked about what liability she was referring to, she gave me some mumbo jumbo about fraud concerns and said she was not at liberty to discuss their policy further. If they only cater to businesses that need no more than $500 they should change their name to MicroBusinessBank.com. What a waste of time! read more

Bizarre policy. I signed up online at smallbusinessbank.com. Seemed simple enough. Part of the process was to verify my ID. (This part is kind of scary.) Obviously they can quickly grab data from your credit report. The site proceeded to ask me a number of questions from my past... really bizarre stuff, like what was my apartment number 30 years ago! I was able to answer several of the questions. The site said I passed. I then get an email saying I failed. I called the number in the email and asked what what up. One woman said I had to talk to her supervisor, I left a voice mail for him. No return call. Two days later, I called again, talked to another guy who put me on hold, came back and said I was denied. Period. No other alternatives. I explained how ludicrious the ID verification process was. He agreed and said they were thinking about changing it and that I could reapply in 90 days. Yeah, right! It is deceptive advertising when thay say they are a 'no bull' bank. read more